Buskerfest 2010

The buskers are in full buskering mode at the St Lawrence Market neighbourhood so grab some money and head on down and let them busk you at the 2010 Scotia Buskerfest in support of Epilepsy Toronto. The fun lasts until this Sunday and the streets are also full of venders and there is even a beer garden on one of the side streets. Here is my post with photos taken during Saturday's performances.

2010 Toronto Buskerfest - Aug 26-29

Update: You can see my photos of the Buskerfest from Thursday here and from Saturday here.

Get ready for amazing tricks and fun, fun, fun as we fast approach the 2010 Scotiabank Toronto Buskerfest during the 26th to the 29th in the St Lawrence Market area. I found Silver Elvis in a small town warming up for his work in the buskerfest, posing in front of a beautiful red, classic, Falcon convertible. I told Elvis that he was on the poster for the event and he was surprised.

I also found a winged vampire - she was promoting Screamfest which is coming to Acton in October.

Photo Vault - Silver Elvis

It's almost time for the streets of Toronto to fill with buskers. Sometimes you have to push your way through hordes of buskers. Busking, that's what they are doing, practicing for Buskerfest.

Some of the usual buskers that hang around downtown TO include Copper Cowboy and Silver Elvis. You see Elvis (Peter Jarvis) around quite a few places and I believe I just saw him in a commercial.

Photo Vault - More Buskerfest

The St Lawrence Market Scotiabank Buskerfest festival continues to grow in popularity every year, so much so that it is hard to walk through the streets and you must pick your spot ahead of time - before the performers start their show. Held annually in August this event provides plenty of colour and excitement and lasts the entire weekend. Here are some pictures from 2006 to the 2008 festival.




In 2008 an intense rain shower cleared the streets in a matter of minutes. The rain soon went away and the crowds came back to watch the street performers continue their shows before an appreciative and moist audience.



Besides being highly talented the buskers usually say, right before the finale, that if you stay to the end you should pay $20 to watch the show and then they invite people to leave if they don't agree. Usually nobody leaves but few give the performers $20. People are asked to tip the artists whatever they can as I don't believe they are paid by the festival and must survive on the generosity of Torontonians.



During the 2007 Buskerfest one of the acts was the Russian Bar Trio, seen below in the photo and on my YouTube video - this video has over 67,000 views as of today.

Biffs went Bam

During the recent Buskerfest there was one act consisting of three women from HerciniArts Collective who wandered around the St Lawrence Market area climbing on things. They were climbing around Biff's Bistro when management decided that the women couldn't climb on there stuff. I thought the Biff's lady was Sandra Bullock in town for the TIFF festival. Here they found some other stuff to climb.

Buskerfest 2009

The sky cleared and the crowds came down to the St Lawrence Market area for the festival of street performance artists known as Buskerfest.

The festival is almost too successful as the crowds make it hard to walk through the streets and see any of the acts. They should really build a few elevated platforms at the intersections so more people could see the acts. The actually had one large platform this year so maybe next year there will be more. Daisy the cute dog supports the fight to cure epilepsy.







There was a strange fire breathing, smoke belching and bubble making machine rolling through the streets.

Buskerfest in August

Summer doesn't want to come out full blast in Toronto yet, start small is a good idea and then get into toasty warm temperatures. One of the interesting festivals to hit Toronto in summer is Buskerfest which takes over the St Lawrence Market August 27th to the 30th. The streets are filled with performers drawing large crowds, colourful makeup and costumes and plenty of vendors.

Welcome back

Summer is going down to it's final stage as we start to slide into fall - which to some is the best time of the year. As a photographer I certainly like the colours which help to stave off the sadness of the upcoming winter. I have been very busy with creating other websites and shooting pictures for a local paper but I still get around to see such great things as the 2007 Toronto Buskerfest.

Here are some Quebec Viking girls that like to play with fire perform on the Saturday of the Buskerfest three day weekend in the St Lawrence Market area of Toronto.


I will return with Joe to Cayuga for a September 1 race.